


A Ritual

by arluinuial



Series: The Farmer [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Absurd, Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23024266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arluinuial/pseuds/arluinuial
Summary: A new farmer has arrived in Stardew Valley and the other residents have found that the newcomer is a little strange and vaguely sinister. Sebastian wishes the Farmer would stop giving him presents.This is one story in a series of short scenes involving villagers and their encounters with the Farmer.
Series: The Farmer [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651357
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	A Ritual

Life really sucked sometimes, Sebastian mused, taking a long drag on his cigarette. He turned to stare out over the moonlit lake, listening to a chorus of noisy crickets and croaking frogs. Okay, he had to admit that right now the view didn't suck and neither did the solitude- but just about everything else in his life did. Maybe he was just being dramatic. Sebastian scowled at his self-doubt; he should be allowed to wallow if he wanted to, dammit. 

His wallowing was short-lived, however. The night's tranquility was broken suddenly by the appearance of someone walking the path around the lake. Sebastian squinted through the darkness at the distant shadowy figure, trying to identify whoever was approaching him. By the time he recognized the trespasser, it was too late to slink away unnoticed. Sebastian had already been spotted. It was the Farmer.

" _Shit_ ," he cursed, and quickly stubbed out his cigarette. Sebastian tried to make an escape, loping away from the lake towards his mother's house. Safety was only steps away, the house was right there, he might just make it. _**Or not**_. The Farmer caught up and cut off Sebastian's route to the front door. 

"Um…Need something?" Sebastian asked, stepping back to put a little distance between himself and his intrusive neighbor. The Farmer stared mutely, then reached for the bag on their back. Sebastian's stomach dropped; he knew what was coming. Sure enough, the Farmer drew out a chunk of crystal and offered it to Sebastian. 

Sebastian held back a sigh and accepted the gift. He had no other choice. He'd learned the hard way that if he didn't take it the Farmer would just keep shoving it at him, silent but persistent, refusing to either leave or let him pass. They'd gone through this exchange at least a couple times a week, every week, for several seasons now.

"Thanks. I like it," Sebastian said flatly. That was pretty much the same thing he always said, but it seemed to satisfy his unwanted benefactor. The Farmer finally got out of the way and made a wordless exit, up the stairs at the side of the house towards the path back to the farm. 

Shoulders slumped, Sebastian trudged through the front door, feeling defeated. As he entered the house his mother, Robin, glanced up from her desk in the front room and smiled at her son. Noticing his dark expression and the gem in his hand, her smile faltered. 

"The Farmer?" She asked, her tone sympathetic. Sebastian only nodded and Robin winced. "Well, it's a nice gesture," she reminded him, though it was clear that she didn't really think so and they both knew that Sebastian didn't agree. He shrugged, and headed for his basement bedroom.

Inside his room, Sebastian looked around and sighed again. Every spare surface was already covered by hunks of the same shimmering semi opaque mineral. There were full boxes of it stacked in corners and under his bed. His mother had even put up new shelves on the walls and each one was filled, nearly up to the ceiling. 

Sebastian had tried selling off the stones to Clint, the town's blacksmith, but now Clint refused to buy anymore because he was overstocked. Giving them away hadn't worked either, nobody wanted them. His sister Maru used a few in her science experiments but she wasn't going through the stock quickly enough to make any kind of meaningful difference. When Sebastian had started throwing them in the town river, Mayor Lewis caught him and bitched about it, so he'd had to stop. Dumping them back in the mine and into the lake by his house were unsuccessful strategies too, because Sebastian was pretty sure the Farmer had just gathered them all up again and was re-gifting them to him. He was stuck now with a never ending supply of worthless rocks. This was a nightmare. 

Overcome by the futility of his bizarre fate, Sebastian hurled his latest unsolicited souvenir at a wall. He wondered why he'd been chosen as the unwilling participant in this weird gifting ritual. Would the Farmer ever leave him alone? When would it finally end? And, most importantly, what in the hell was he supposed to do with all this fucking quartz?

**Author's Note:**

> Sebastian is my favorite, so I give him gifts constantly. Whenever I run out of frozen tears I just keep giving him quartz. Like, dude just has a ton of quartz now. What is he doing with it? Sometimes I feel bad about giving him all that quartz, but man I don't have time to catch fish and cook him sashimi.


End file.
